SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara City College Women’s Volleyball team (5-9) snapped a tough stretch with a 3-0 sweep of Antelope Valley (4-7) on Friday night in their final match before conference play begins.
Just about every Vaquero who was available got into the match, including freshman Eleanor Alexander who, coming back from injury to play for the first time this season, got a kill for the final point of the match. The Vaqueros won 25-21, 25-22, 25-21.
“My goal was to get everybody in tonight, but you always have to make sure the team is in the right headspace,” Head Coach Kat Niksto said. “I thought they did a great job of being super supportive and energetic for anyone who came in off the bench.”
Morgane Breault continued to serve as the team’s libero, and it paid off early. Five of the Vaqueros’ points in the first set came with her at the service line, including a few aces late in the set to give the Vaqueros some breathing room. They won it 25-21.
Set two was a similar story. After Breault rattled off a 3-0 serving run, left-handed Brenna Owens went on a 4-0 serving run midway through. That helped the Vaqueros flip an 11-10 deficit to an 18-13 lead, cruising to a two-set advantage. A late Antelope Valley mini-run ended with a 25-22 SBCC victory.
Eyeing a sweep, the Vaqueros remained consistently ahead by a few points in the third. The maximum Antelope Valley run in the set was 2-0, despite the score ending relatively close—25-21. It showed a sense of control that the Vaqueros had lacked of late, which could prove useful with conference play on the horizon.
“We’re still building,” Niksto said. “We tried different lineups; we’re trying to find our groove and see what sticks.”
Aubrielle LaPointe and Osby Judd-Wade were tied for the team lead with nine kills. Breault had team highs in digs (12) and aces (three). Owens dished 33 assists (11 per set).
The Vaqueros open conference play on Wednesday when they travel to Allan Hancock at 6 p.m. Fans not making the trip to Santa Maria can watch the livestream and/or follow live stats on govaqs.com.